Pork Producers Advised to Ensure Biosecurity Plans Active, Ongoing

CANADA - Ontario's chief veterinary officer is encouraging pork producers to ensure biosecurity plans are active and ongoing as they work to protect their herds from Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea, writes Bruce Cochrane.

Last Thursday the first case of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea in Canada was confirmed on farrow to finish operation in Middlesex County, Ontario.

Dr Greg Douglas, the chief veterinarian for Ontario with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, reports since the virus was first detected it's been confirmed in two other barns in the Chatham Kent region and significant amounts of environmental testing throughout the Ontario swine infrastructure has found the virus in another assembly yard and another trucking company so we have significant pressure at multiple points.

Dr Greg Douglas-Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food

We know from the first farm that the virus was sequenced and it was found to be consistent with virus that's circulating in the United States.

We also know, from our environmental testing that has been done in the last few months that the pressure into Ontario has been intensifying so, consistent with what we have seen in the United States, mechanical spread, conveyance, trucks, trailers is the most likely scenario.

Specific to these farms we do know that there is, while maybe not a direct linkage, certainly indirect linkages with various points in the supply chain.

So mechanical spread consistent with what we've seen in the American context is the largest threat to farms and that is the communication that we've had with our industry here in Ontario for the last six to eight months that it's absolutely incumbent upon producers to make sure trucks coming onto their farms are cleaned, dried and disinfected.

Dr Douglas says significant amounts of money have been spent over the past few years to highlight biosecurity and now is the time to ensure biosecurity plans are active and ongoing.